British MastersAs a girl called Alice might have remarked, things just get "curiouser and curiouser" on tour.

Yesterday's first round of the the Daily Telegraph Dunlop British Masters was one of those strange old days when the only thing to be expected was the unexpected. A day when Colin Montgomerie three-putted from two and a half feet on the last green. When a Spaniard was disqualified for trampling down the foliage. And when a quartet of Englishmen contrived - somehow - to master the conditions to claim a share of the lead.

All in all, it was a tough old grind. For Rory McIlroy, it was an awakening. In his first appearance on the PGA European Tour - albeit as an amateur - the 16-year-old plus-four handicapper had a mishmash of a round that featured him birdieing all four of the par fives on the Arden course, yet left him signing for an 82 after a round that also featured five bogeys, three double bogeys and a triple bogey. It's all part of his learning curve, though.

On a day when rounds dragged out beyond five and a half hours, mental fortitude became as important as shot-making and, by day's end, four English players - David Howell, Brian Davis, David Lynn and Ben Mason - had retained their sanity and grabbed a share of the lead on three-under-par 69, a shot clear of seven other players.

In all, only 20 players managed to beat par, although that number would have been better but for some curious misdemeanours.

One of those was committed by Montgomerie - who had been rebuked by his peers on the eve of the tournament for the way he incorrectly replaced his ball after a rain delay at a tournament in Indonesia earlier this year. Three under yesterday playing the ninth, his finishing hole, he contrived to three-putt for a triple bogey seven.

"The ninth is probably the most difficult hole on the course," conceded the Scot, "but not that difficult that I should take a seven . . . these things happen, and I will try again tomorrow."

In a way, Monty's on-course woes managed to deflect the focus he has been under since his Indonesian incident came to light. He was reported by fellow tour player Soren Kjeldsen, who noticed a discrepancy on television pictures in where the Scot replaced his ball the day after a rain delay.

On Tuesday evening, Montgomerie was quizzed by the players' tournament committee, who afterwards expressed their "dissatisfaction" to him over the incident.

Yesterday, another player found himself under the spotlight. Unlike Montgomerie, who subsequently donated his winnings from the Indonesian Open to the Asian tsunami relief fund, Miguel Angel Martin didn't escape disqualification after being found guilty of a breach of Rule 13-2.

Martin, who finished with a 71, was deemed to have signed for an incorrect score after failing to add a penalty for an incident on the ninth, his finishing hole. Martin - who has been disqualified on four previous occasions - was deemed to have taken a stance, according to chief referee John Paramour, "on a small sapling which he felt may injure him as it had small thorns on it".

Critically, in executing practise swings, Martin had shown (on television images) that the small tree would have interfered with his intended swing.

"We were alerted by a television viewer who had seen the footage," continued Paramour. "Unfortunately, the television coverage was delayed and by the time we were alerted to the incident, Miguel Angel had completed his round and signed his card . . . it should be pointed out that there have been a few changes to Rule 13-2 in the last few years and the rules bodies were keen to tighten up the wording and the procedures to try and make them clearer, and not everybody has picked up on them."

For his part, Martin said: "I fully accept the decision, although I have made it quite clear that in no way did I think I was breaking the rules."

For the most part, however, yesterday was a real grind. Stiff crosswinds - and more are expected - allied with firm fairways and hard greens meant that players found it difficult to control just where the ball would land.

Yesterday, Howell managed to negotiate 17 holes without a bogey - and, amazingly, without birdieing any of the par fives - until he stumbled at the last, his tee-shot to the 18th finding a greenside bunker.

He failed to get up and down, which would have given him the outright lead.